Dear Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust,

Unfortunately, Eput complaints as advised in early 2022 still have not provided any answer to this question.

Therefore I have made another FOI request for the same.

Before TMS became routinely funded in some parts of Essex in late spring 2022.
It was a postcode lottery if your Eput clinician would make a funding request for TMS for anxiety and depression.

The number of TMS requests made by Eput clinicians
Basildon & Brentwood 13
Thurrock 5
Mid Essex 8
West Essex 2
Castle Point & Rochford 2
Southend 1
North East Essex 2
Source Eput's own data kindly provided on 22/03/2021

As can be seen from Eput's own data there is a large difference in the number of TMS funding requests made by Eput clinicians depending on Essex area.

For example, take Basildon and Brentwood 13 funding requests were made over the years for TMS. In contrast in nearby Southend, only 1 funding request was made over the years for TMS.

Therefore regarding TMS treatment, it was a postcode lottery if a funding request was going to be made by an Eput clinician.

Previously Eput said it would have to look at all patients' records in these two areas to determine the reasons. I think this is just a distraction from the real causes.
Both Southend and Basildon & Brentwood are areas with large urban populations and located near each other in South Essex.

1, Why would patients in Brentwood where the TMS service is physically located benefit more than patients in another area with the same diagnosis and similar presentation that is not normally how psychiatric treatments work?

I would suggest it was possibly down to
2, the Eput clinicians' knowledge of TMS in these two different areas?
3, and likely success of funding if a request was made?
not due to different patient profiles in these two adjoining Essex areas.
4, If it really is as Eput claims Brentwood patients require, respond, etc to TMS treatment why does Eput not try and discover the reason for this strange anomaly that has been uncovered?

The reason for no investigation by Eput probably does not want to admit to TMS was a postcode lottery.
I do not know why Eput cannot accept this as Eputs own figures show this was the case from 2017 to early 2022.

5, The facts raise the difficult question of why Eput patients in Brentwood got better treatment than for example Eputs patients in Southend

6, If it was a funding issue why was Eput not advise patients to relocate to Brentwood so they could obtain treatment?

It would have been fairer if Eput clinicians had made a similar number of funding requests for TMS in Southend and other areas of Essex, but they did not.

Yours faithfully,

iain gordon

Dear Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust,

Two other pertinent observations that may explain the disparity

7, I have provided a link to Google maps and found
The distance from the centers of Basildon to Southen is only 11.7 miles
These two areas share a border
If you look at the map you will see Southend area has a larger sprawling area of grey on the map, grey indicates urban conurbation including housing so a larger population?
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Basildon...

8, Suspiciously Eput head office is located in Wickford which falls under the Basildon and Brentwood area, another reason that might shed light on the matter?

Yours faithfully,

iain gordon

Dear FOI (ESSEX PARTNERSHIP UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST),

Still waiting fora reply

Yours sincerely,

iain gordon

Dear FOI (ESSEX PARTNERSHIP UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST),

No need to reply
it was Eput complaint in 2020 that said this TMS treatment postcode lottery issue was for foi to answer,
reason for my questions to foi
as complaints could not/have not been answered similar questions

Yours sincerely,

iain gordon